Foreign Affairs Flashcards
What was an issue of great concern for Elizabeth’s ministers?
Her marriage
Who was eliz’s natural successor?
Due to her not having an heir
MQS - devout catholic
Why was there fears over MQS coming to throne?
Fear of a catholic inheritance was strong among eliz’s Protestant nobility and her death without a successor could bring about civil war, foreign invasion of religious strife.
what was the queen’s opinion about the issues of marriage?
She felt the issues of marriage and succession lay within the royal prerogative and were not areas for discussion either in parliament or even by the council.
She was not short of suitors - both from within England and abroad
Who were Elizabeth’s suitors?
- Robert Dudley (earl of Leicester)
- prince Erik of Sweden
- Francis, Duke of Anjou
- the archdukes of Ferdinand and Charles
- Phillip II of Spain
Who was Robert Dudley?
Earl of Leicester from 1564
English nobleman but opposed by Cecil and marred by scandal over death of first wife (possible murder)
Protestant
What religion was prince Erik of Sweden?
Protestant
Who was Francis Duke of Anjou?
Brother of king H3 of France
Proposed by Cecil, 1579
Catholic
Who were the archdukes of Ferdinand and Charles?
Sons of the emporer Ferdinand
Catholic
Who was Philip II of Spain?
Marys ex bird
Keen to maintain influence in England
Devoutly catholic
Who was MQS?
Had fled south in 1568 - after a breakdown in her relationship with the Protestant lords had culminated in a brief civil war
Living in captivity in England
She represented a continuous threat to eliz, since some English catholics saw her as the rightful monarch
This problem increased when eliz was excommunicated in 1570, meaning that the pope freed her catholic subjects from the need to obey her
What did Mary become the focus of?
4 plots to overthrow eliz between 1571 and 1586
The last of these, the Babinton plot of 1586 resulted in a trial at which she was found guilty
Although eliz was reluctant to authorise the execution of another anointed monarch, Cecil convinced her that it was necessary for her personal safety and the security of the Protestant state
When was MQS beheaded?
1587
This provided and excuse for Phillip II, whose suit of eliz had broken down by the 1970s, to send an Amanda against England in 1588
Who was eliz eventually succeeded by?
MQS’s son, James VI of Scotland - who had the best hereditary claim
He was prot and already had 2 sons by 1600
Councillors such as Essex and Cecil had already made contact w James when eliz died in 1603, ensuring a smooth transition
What were Anglo-Spanish relations like?
- they began cordially in the 1560s, as Philip proposed marriage w eliz
- however, they had deteriorated by 1570s and became steadily worse during the rest of eliz’s reign
What threatened the Spanish trading monopoly in the Caribbean?
John Hawkins’ trading activity
What was the relationship like with the Netherlands?
The catholic Philip II (who controlled the Netherlands), clashed w Dutch Protestants. Protestant councillors pressurised eliz to aid the Protestants. She was reluctant to support the rebels but her expulsion from the English ports of the sea beggars (Dutch pirates) in 1572 sparked a revolt in the Netherlands against Spanish rule
What did the English do in 1568 in relation to Spain?
- the English seized Spanish vessels, driven by a storm into English ports, and confiscated the money they carried, which was intended to pay Philip’s army in the Netherlands
What did Philip support?
The northern rebellion (1569) and the ridolfi plot to replace eliz with MQS (1571)
In the 1570s and early 1580s why was Philip’s success in the Netherlands of concern to Elizabeth?
Relations continued to deteriorate as privateers captures considerable quantities of Spanish bullion on its way to Europe from the new world
1584 - Philip’s treaty of Joinville with the catholic league in France?
Proved the final straw and an Anglo-Spanish war broke out in 1585
What did eliz do to counteract the terms of the treaty of Joinville?
She made the treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch prot rebels and sent troops to Netherlands under the command of the earl of Leicester. However, the English commanders quarrelled among themselves and the troops were ill-disciplined.
What did the English successfully attack in 1587?
The Spanish ships at Cadiz
- delaying the launch of the Spanish Armada (invasion fleet)
What happened in 1588 with Leicester?
He retuned to England. Philip’s huge armada set sail with plans to load a Spanish army in the Netherlands, for an invasion of England. It was sighted of Cornwall, engaged in indecisive battle (by Drake) in the English Channel. And forced by unfavourable winds to round Scotland and Ireland, losing many ships to rocks and storms
